There have been several changes regarding the child welfare policy in the last decade.  Among them are less removals of children from their homes which has led to less children in foster care.  The amount of children who are abused 6 months after returning home has also declined.  Also, family support was added as an alternative to removal.

These changes affect implementation of services at the caseworker level since now instead of simply removing the child any time a report is made, caseworkers try to keep children in the home while working with families by offering support or training.  Social workers need to know child welfare policy so they know what is expected when working with a child or parents involved in a CPS case.

Social workers should know often times the parent is not intentionally trying to harm or neglect the child.  There are so many other factors which come into play such as poverty, being a single parent, history of abuse, too much stress, or possible mental health issues which have not been diagnosed.   Most child deaths which occur are prior CPS cases which were opened during the last 5 years.

Child welfare policy also affects the families involved.  Depending on the issue, the entire family may need to seek counseling or training.  If the child is removed from the home, the child needs to adjust to a completely new environment and issues of being separated from parents and sometimes siblings.  Parents may have to complete a plan and go before a judge before their child will be returned to them.  Once the child is returned, treatment must be continued while everyone attempts to re-adjust to having the child back in the home.  Follow-up visits need to be made to avoid the behavior resurfacing.  Sometimes the process takes well over a year.

When policy changes, new regulations are put in place which families, CPS caseworkers, and social workers have to comply with.